Choking (i.e., the unintentional obstruction of the respiratory tract by inhalation of ingestion of a foreign object) is one of the leading causes of accidental death in children. In one estimate, approximately 4,000 individuals in the United States die every year due to choking, making it one of the top five causes of death in the United States. In the year 2000 alone, 160 children 14 years or younger died from choking. For every choking death, there are more than 100 visits to emergency departments for choking incidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 17,537 children 14 years and younger were treated for choking in an emergency department, in 2001 alone.
Choking may or may not fully block the respiratory tract. In cases where the respiratory tract is fully blocked, or blocked sufficiently to impair breathing, every minute a child is choking can diminish the chances of full recovery. For example, if the obstruction is removed and the child is able to breathe normally within 4 minutes, brain damage is unlikely. On the other hand, when the brain is without oxygen for 4 to 6 minutes, brain damage is possible. Brain damage becomes probable when the brain is deprived of oxygen for 6 to 10 minutes. If the oxygen deprivation exceeds 10 minutes, brain death is likely.
In view of the foregoing, first aid should be administered as soon as possible to avoid brain damage and death. However, many people who witness a choking situation may not be familiar or proficient with first aid treatments. For example, the Heimlich maneuver, in which a second individual performs abdominal thrusts to the victim's torso below from behind the body and beneath the rib cage to create pressure in the lungs to possibly expel the obstructing object, is not known by many. For over 100 million individuals in the United States, the Heimlich maneuver may not even be an option due to various factors, such as: disability, pregnancy, obesity, or simply being alone.
The victim many also not be able to be moved into a proper position for the Heimlich maneuver due to weight or the environment they are in. The Heimlich may also fail because the victim may lack sufficient air in the lungs to develop enough pressure to expel the object. For example, the victim may have ingested the obstructing object immediately upon completing an exhaling step in the breathing cycle or have already exhaled the air by coughing.
For such situations, a source of suction to expel the object from the victim's throat would be a better solution. Instead, critical time is typically wasted for emergency medical personnel to arrive to the scene, which is often too late to prevent permanent damage or death.
Although choking intervention devices are known in the art, they are generally complex in that they include many parts. Such complexity not only increases the overall cost but also makes prior art devices less reliable in that more components could fail. Indeed, prior art devices typically are piston driven and have rubber seals for the piston, where the seals degrade over time, thereby limiting the effectiveness of the tool. Thus, after years of storage, such prior art devices may fail to provide proper suction because of the degradation of the seals. Further, many prior art choking intervention devices require mounting and are therefore not truly portable, thereby limiting their range of use. Keeping them in a glove compartment of a vehicle or in a picnic basket may not be a convenient option.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to have a simple and effective way to clear the airwaves in an emergency situation. It would be also beneficial to have a device and method that is cost effective, reliable, and does not degrade over time. It would be further beneficial to have a device and method that does not rely for help on a second party in a choking emergency situation.